J.O.Y.

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I spent most of yesterday afternoon reading through page after page of notes I had taken last summer in preparation for a ladies’ retreat scheduled for early March. My jumping-off point for the three sessions I am bringing to the ladies are Jesus’ words from Matthew 22:37-39. The theme of the retreat is Indescribable and Glorious Joy. It might seem odd that the Law, summarized in the two great commandments that Jesus gave, should have much to do with the subject of joy. But it has everything to do with deep and fulfilling joy.

We used to define joy this way:

J = Jesus
O = Others
y = You

And that is basically what the two great commandments are all about.

Love the Lord your God = Jesus
Love your neighbour = Others
Love yourself = You

It sounds simple—it isn’t. We are simply not “programmed” to put anything first in our lives but ourselves and what we think will bring satisfaction to our lives. That makes the first part of the command, Love the Lord your God so hard for us.

My verse for today echoed what all those fabulous quotes and ideas I had written down described. The verse comes from Deuteronomy 6:5-7 and says: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give to you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up”.

Not only did this verse resonate with what I had reviewed yesterday in my notes but it also dovetailed with a news item that I heard yesterday. A father was demanding that Apple invent some built-in way of controlling how much time kids spent on their phones, iPads, and other devices. Funny, the Scriptures say that responsibility lies with the parents, not with the manufacturer. Discipline is a parent's job and self-discipline is something both caught and taught. The admonition from Deuteronomy is 1. our greatest responsibility is to love God with everything we are and above everything else, and 2. this concept is something we need to pass on to the generation that follows us—caught by our own example and taught day and night.

My notes are full of fabulous quotes from people who are learning that joy comes first of all from putting first things first—loving the Lord and seeking to enjoy Him and glorify Him in all things and above all things. We believe in God, but perhaps there is more than just belief involved in truly being a believer. John Piper, in Desiring God, expresses it this way: “I mean that no one is a Christian who does not embrace Jesus gladly as his most valued treasure, and then pursue the fullness of that joy in Christ that honors Him…The world abounds with millions of unconverted people who say they believe in Jesus…Could it be that today the most straightforward biblical command for conversion is not, ‘Believe in the Lord,’ but, ‘Delight yourself in the Lord’?”

Provocative question, isn’t it?